NEWS October 8
TOP 3 Stories for Wednesday

Entertainment News October 8 - Audio Version YESTERDAY'S POLL Does MCCAIN have any chance of beating OBAMA? Only if they steal the election again - 54.2% NO - 22.9% YES, he will win - 16.7% YES, somewhat of a chance - 6.2% CLICK HERE and answer this POLL!

TODAY'S POLL Who WON Debate #2 - McCain OR Obama? Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in. First Name* First Name* E-mail Address Who WON Debate #2 - McCain OR Obama? McCain Obama TIE WATCH TODAY'S SHORT FILM OF THE DAY WATCH TODAY'S COMEDY SHORT FILM OF THE DAY

STUDIOS SET FOR ALMOST $1 BILLION IN FILM PRODUCTION

After mostly sitting on the sidelines since the June 30 expiration of the SAG contract, studios are preparing to put 40 or more films into production between spring and summer.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in production financing will be committed to fill slates for 2010 and 2011, signaling the end of the de facto thesp strike that has kept pic production at a low ebb for nearly a year.

With a handful of exceptions, the majors mostly stopped greenlighting films in October 2007, which led to a large number of productions that wrapped before June 30.

Studios are ready to replicate that pre-strike rush by creating the same kind of boom market for production starting early next year.

Studio toppers are moving forward with a healthy level of anxiety. The recent credit crunch won’t impact the next batch of film starts, execs said, because that money has already been secured and budgeted. And there’s clear evidence that audiences will continue to come to theaters, even if the economy remains in the toilet by the time these films are released.

Studios are more nervous about the financial exposure they face if SAG does go on strike. But the prospect of gaping holes in their distribution slates for 2010 and 2011 is a worse scenario for the majors, and so they are willing to risk the consequences of moving ahead despite the SAG uncertainty.

Films like "Terminator Salvation," "Transformers 2," "Angels & Demons," "Night at the Museum 2" and "2012" went into production after the expiration of the SAG contract, and each of those productions worked in strike contingencies that ranged from agreements with stage houses to shut down and leave sets intact to deals with cast members to return 48 hours after a strike is settled.

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Lakeview Terrace dir. Neil LaBute Starring Samuel L. Jackson Kerry Washington	Eagle Eye dir. D.J. Caruso Starring Shia LaBeouf Michelle Monaghan Billy Bob Thornton